Crystal Cove: A classroom on the coast

With its 3.2 miles of coastline, 1,100 acres of ocean space and 2,400 acres of backcountry, Crystal Cove State Park is known as a gem in the state park system.

Besides its beauty, it's also known for its innovative approach to science literacy – with hands-on science learning and partnerships with university researchers.

With nearly 80 state parks almost shuttering last year – they were rescued at the last minute – it's important for state parks to stay relevant and responsive to community needs, said Crystal Cove Alliance President Harry Helling.

With a graduate degree in science education and nearly 20 years at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, Helling thinks state parks are a valuable resource for science education – particularly with children. With the recent emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math in California teaching standards, Helling believes the park could play a key role not only in making abstract concepts approachable, but allowing kids to do work alongside researchers from universities such as Stanford and Pepperdine.

The nonprofit has a “three-legged approach” to science programming – focusing on a floating marine field station on a fishing boat, a cottage-turned-research facility for university work and a new facility to debut on the canyon side of the park, Helling said.

The latter is the Berns Environmental Study Loop, which opens Jan. 31 and seeks to turn visitors into citizen scientists. They can peruse mini field stations, including one manned by UC Irvine researchers studying the relationship between water and the ecosystem. The loop is the result of a $1 million donation from Laguna Beach residents Michael and Tricia Berns.

All of this work is thanks to the Crystal Cove Alliance, the cooperating association that supports the park. Out of the 280 state parks, only a few have nonprofits operating at the level of the Crystal Cove Alliance, Helling said. If it weren't for the nonprofit, the area wouldn't be a time capsule of the 1920s, but rather a common sight today – a luxury resort.

After becoming a state park in 1979, the state gave a developer a 60-year lease to use the 46 historical cottages as glamorous getaways. Crystal Cove Alliance Founder Laura Davick went up to Sacramento, then calling the group the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove, lobbying to restore the cottages to use as rentals and for education. The park was saved, and now visitors can stay in a dorm-style cottage for as low as $35 a night.

A field trip to explore the ocean

On a recent Friday morning, eighth-graders from a camp at Girls Inc., a Costa Mesa nonprofit, got to climb aboard a fishing boat for a citizen science cruise.

The program is a new partnership between the Crystal Cove Alliance and Newport Landing Sportfishing and aims to provide STEM experiences right on the water. In its first season, the boat saw 1,200 students.

That day, the girls got to take plankton samples, document fish with a digital fishing rod and check water quality to determine kelp forest health.

It was a day of firsts for many of the girls: first time they had been on a boat, been at the beach, seen a whale or a dolphin, said Girls Inc. STEM Development Coordinator Christie Pearce. Many of the girls who participate come from low-income families.

“They were laughing and clapping” when they saw a pod of whales, Pearce said. “I think it brought home to them why it's so important to take care of our ocean.”

The girls said the field trip was their favorite yet, beating out Knott's Berry Farm, she said.

The information gathered on the cruises is used by scientists to monitor the effect of the state's regulations of marine protected areas, UC Irvine professor Travis E. Huxman said.

An opportunity for science research

Scientists from UC Irvine, Stanford, Cal State Long Beach and Pepperdine University use a red-shingled cottage on the sand – colloquially known as No. 22 – as a laboratory and research facility.

A Cal State Long Beach graduate student studied the heavy metals in kelp sap to track pollution. She traced elements back to the Japan tsunami, showing pollutants were absorbed by the kelp just five days after, Education Manager Sue Magdziarz said.

Other work includes Cal State Fullerton studies on invasive algae species in tide pools, Pepperdine research on grunions and Stanford work on ocean acidification – which essentially is global warming underwater, Helling said.

Working with the universities not only lets researchers study a preserved habitat but also share their studies with the public, Magdziarz said. Kids might make models of viruses that are found in the shore break, or adults might look at sand under a microscope.

“We want you to believe that this is some of the most innovative programming anywhere,” Helling said. “We don't think anyone is doing this work.”